English Grammer Tour in Short

E-Tutorial - Empowering You
Emerson said, "Man is only half himself. The other half is his expression." In this e-tutorial, we would be exploring one of the most powerful mediums available for human expression - WRITING. "Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go." Welcome to the exploration.

All exploration, all growth is calculated. Without challenge, people cannot reach their higher selves. Only if we are willing to walk over the edge, can we become winners. And it all starts with an urge to DO things better.

"Begin the dos and lay down the trys. Wake up to realize, or sleep with memorized lies of how you lived truly alive. Just wake and see..... with a keen eye trained to see beyond the horizon of what you are truly meant to be. No more dreams of an unrelenting battle within. When you rise, the truth and knowledge will begin. Subtle yet absolute, those changes will infuse with the darkness that held on to you. Your reality will drift, leaving a knowledge and lesson from a teacher unknown The answer is here! It's the spin-tingling truth. Lay down the trys and begin the dos."

All you need to do is set aside a few minutes of your day for the next 6 days and follow the steps listed in the modules of our e-tutorials. In one short sitting, you'll learn a bit more about yourself and the writing world you live in, and begin to take steps towards realizing the style of writing you want.
The modules have a practical purpose. The best part is that you will be learning to use your existing skills and talents to better advantage.

Modules covered in this tutorial will include:

1.Good writing tips

2.Tips for good research

3.Rephrasing

4.Adapting a suitable tone for your article

5.Conquering the writers' block

6.Financial terms simplified

Before embarking on our tutorial, we have a small assignment for you.

GOOD WRITING TIPS
?It is only in good writing that you will find how words are best used, what shades of meaning they can be made to carry, and by what devices (or lack of them) the reader is kept going smoothly or bogged down.? ? Jacques Barzun.

Quality writing will make your life easier and more profitable. As you communicate more effectively, you will successfully persuade others to share your point of view. Quality writing saves time and increases the quantity of articles you turn in.

Before starting on any piece of writing, you need to consider many things.

1. What are you trying to communicate? All writing needs a purpose.

2. Assemble material. This involves allocating the various facts and ideas to appropriate groups and places.

3. The structure. A good piece of writing begins with a summary. With the help of the summary, readers understand the material presented more easily.

4. We pay most attention to, and remember best, the beginning and the ending. So, open and close strongly.

5. Finally, consider how to split up the text. Present it easily and intelligibly. .

**The Four Principles**

There are four main principles of good writing.

1. The purpose ? why it is written

2. The application ? how it is used.

3. The content ? what it says.

4. The expression ? how it says it.

*Principle 1: Purpose*This refers to why you are writing. Determine the purpose of your writing by asking and answering these questions:? What am I writing for?? Why am I writing it?? What will be the benefit to me of writing it?? How do I want to influence the reader?

*Principle 2: Application*This refers to how the writing is to be used to make it appropriate to the circumstances.There are three main types of writing:a. for informationb. for explanationc. for persuasionEach has a different use. The use must be defined and the appropriate type used.

*Principle3: Content*This refers to what the article says. Write it to suit the reader. Put in items which will persuade the reader.

*Principle4: Expression*This refers to the writing style. Write clearly, not cloudily. Observe Clarity-Simplicity-Brevity.

A few more tips:

1. Keep It Short and SimpleWrite in short sentences and use simple words. It is wrong to assume that big words and long sentences indicate intelligence. A concise article saves reading and writing time. The main points won't fade into a background of unnecessary words. Read sentences out loud to check their length. If you run out of breath, they're too long. Eliminate extra words.

2. Be Specific and Avoid Generalizations Use specific, concrete words instead of vague generalizations. Don't make your readers guess about the meaning of your message; it accelerates their loss of interest.

3. Use the Active Voice The passive voice makes sentences longer and more impersonal. Examples:? The mat was sat upon by the cat.? He was hit by you.? The time needed to process an order has been reduced with the new computer Avoid dead, dull-sounding writing by sticking to the active voice, in which the subject is the doer of the action. The active voice sounds alive, personal and demanding. Examples: ? The cat sat on the mat.? You hit him.? The new computer system has reduced the time needed to process an order.

4. Use Parallel StructureOrganize your sentences with parallel structure. Your writing will be much smoother and clearer if you put related ideas in the same tense and form. For example, "I came, I saw, I conquered," sounds a lot snappier than "I arrived, then having seen, I proceeded to conquer."

5. Organize your writingAlways create an outline before starting to write. Even if you only jot down five or six words, it will save you writing time and remind you of where you're headed. Get to the point immediately. Busy readers should be able to get your message in the first two or three sentences of your article. Start with the conclusion or call to action, then list your primary arguments. Provide the back-up or discussion material at the end for anyone who has time to read that far. Once your article is written, you can visually organize your message to make it even clearer and easier to read. Use headings to group related paragraphs. Indent and space your lines to provide increased white space. Number or bullet your points.

6. Watch Your ToneUse positive words and expressions instead of negative ones. To keep your writing from sounding static, which can bore your readers, try alternating longer sentences with shorter ones. Avoid pompous and clich?d words.

7. Edit for Grammar, Punctuation, and SpellingSpelling and grammatical errors not only convey a sloppy image, but also can cost you business. Always let someone else edit your writing. Although most word processors have a spell check function that can catch some errors, none of them will catch words that are spelled correctly, but used incorrectly in a sentence.

***In a nutshell??For better writing, keep these points in mind:

1. Establish your purpose by completing this statement: "What I want people to do as a result of reading this is..."

2. State your main point by completing this sentence: "What I want to say is..."

3. Don't waste time trying to write the perfect opening. If you're stuck, type something such as "BRILLIANT INTRODUCTION GOES HERE," all in capital letters, and move on.

4. Resort to a similar device, such as "FIX THIS. IT STINKS," if you write something you feel is not quite right. The goal is to get the idea out, no matter how clumsy or stupid it sounds. When you go back to it, at least you have something to work with.

5. Choose short, direct words over long, fancy ones. Don't "maximize an opportunity"--"make the most of it."

6. Your article may only have a thirty second reading with no time for mulling or pondering. You had better get to the point quickly, support your reasoning, and finish fast.

7. This style of writing is often like an inverted pyramid, also. You begin broadly and finish with a narrow focus--a focus directing your reader's attention to where you want it--convincing or persuading your reader of your facts, reasoning, decision, etc.

8. Your article must be reader friendly.

MODULE 4

REPHRASING

Rephrasing means rewriting a sentence so that it means (almost) the same as the original one. Rephrasing allows you to express ideas in different ways.

Tips for Rephrasing
Sentence Rephrasing

1.When a long sentence contains other grammatical structures, its meaning may still be difficult to grasp. In this case, you can break up this long sentence into several shorter sentences that cover everything the author is trying to say.

2.Essentially, you change each separate phrase and clause in the original sentence into a sentence of its own.

3.The key to rephrasing is in the verb in a phrase or clause. Frequently, it is already there and what you need to do is adding the subject. Sometimes, you need to add both the subject and main verb.

Rephrasing Dependent Clauses

1.There are mainly two types of dependent clauses: those that start with relative pronouns and those that start with conjunctions.

2. Consider the first case. A pronoun almost always refers to something, usually a noun, that appears earlier in the sentence. If the relative pronoun is in subjective form, then replace the relative pronoun with the noun as the subject of the clause. If not, the dependent clause already has a subject.

Example 1. a program that detects and removes the new virus CAN BE REPHRASED TO a program (=that) detects and removes the new virus. Example 2. a boy whom I met last week CAN BE REPHRASED TO I met the boy (=whom) last week.Example 3. a boy whose father works for IBM CAN BE REPHRASED TO The boy’s (=whose) father works for IBM.

3.In the second case, the clause already has a subject. Simply drop the conjunction during rephrasing.

4. A list of subordinating conjunctions that frequently appear at the beginning of a dependent clause is given below: afteralthoughas as if as though as soon asbecausebeforeeven thoughgiven thatifin order thaton condition thatprovided thatsinceso thatthanthatthoughunless untilwhenwheneverwherewhereverwhile The following sentences are taken from a quiz article. Words enclosed between stars are the ones that you must add during rephrasing. As you can see, in most cases what you need to add are (1) subject that already appears somewhere else in the sentence and (2) be-verb.

Original sentence: In this chapter we examine three different applications, all concerned with using and managing data, that might be of interest to a hypothetical small business, the Huli Huli Pineapple and Papaya Company.

After rephrasing:

1. In this chapter we examine three different applications.

2. *These applications (=that) * might be of interest to a hypothetical small business.

3. *This hypothetical small business is called * the Huli Huli Pineapple and Papaya Company.

4. All *three applications are * concerned with using and managing data.

Original sentence: Each application is possible because of advances that have taken place in computer hardware and software.
After rephrasing:1. Each application is possible because of advances.2. *These advances (=that) * have taken place in computer hardware and software.

Original sentence: The first spreadsheets software, VisiCalc, developed in 1979, was modeled after the traditional accountant’s ledgerbook or spreadsheet.
After rephrasing:1. The first spreadsheets software was modeled after the traditional accountant’s ledgerbook or spreadsheet.2. *The first spreadsheets software was *VisiCalc.3. *VisiCalc was * developed in 1979.

Original sentence: Spreadsheets are of value to individual homeowners and investors, business planners, scientists, economists, teachers, and anyone who has text and numeric information to organize, manipulate, or display.
After rephrasing:1. Spreadsheets are of value to individual homeowners and investors, business planners, scientists, economists, teachers, and any person (=anyone).2. *This person (=who) * has text and numeric information to organize, manipulate, or display.

Original sentence: Only a portion of the grid, called a window, is visible at any one time on the screen.
After rephrasing:1. Only a portion of the grid is visible at any one time on the screen.2. *This visible portion of the grid is *called a window.

Original sentence: Initially, the window is always located in the upper left corner of the grid, at the beginning of the letter-number cell identification system (cell A1).
After rephrasing:1. Initially, the window is always located in the upper left corner of the grid.2. *The upper left corner of the grid is *at the beginning of the letter-number cell identification system (cell A1).

Original sentence: A cell can contain text information, also called a label, which appears on the screen in that cell.After rephrasing:1. A cell can contain text information.2. *This text information (=which) *appears on the screen in that cell.3. *This text information is *also called a label.

Original sentence: The second kind of information that a cell can contain is a numeric value.After rephrasing:1. A cell can contain *a second kind of information (=that).*2. The second kind of information is a numeric value.

Original sentence: The user can choose the format in which the number will be displayed.After rephrasing:1. The user can choose the format.2. The number will be displayed in *this format (=which). *
These rephrasing tips will aid you in turning in better articles. Put these tips to practice by contributing your articles.